Smee and I had a relatively uneventful flight (BA managed to not lose or damage our luggage for once) and I teetered with excitement as our bus pulled in towards Port Authority near our hotel. *mental note to others: don't take the Airtrain/subway into Manhattan from JFK if you have large suitcases - elevators are non-existent on the subway*
Despite reading that the last two weeks of December is the worst time to go to NYC (long queues, crowds) it didn't feel overcrowded at all. It definitely wasn't as crowded as London, nor were there significant queues. You get so used to your crappy way of life in London that you can start to appreciate small efficiencies such as less queuing and less shoving. I didn't have to push anyone on the street or subway!!
The infamous Times Square.
Smee and I checked in to our hotel the Milford Plaza. While I could not ask for a better location (two blocks from Times Square) the same can not be said about the general hygiene of the hotel. All Germaphobes, heed this warning. Given that the hotel was essentially just a place to sleep at night, I could ignore the general 'old' smell of the building. However, I could not ignore that mysterious bedbug bite that appeared on my bum after our second night. Hrrrrmmmmm.
It was difficult to ignore the lack of OHS standards too. I'm amazed that we never got electrocuted.
Smee and I were starving and off we trotted to find a quick bite. Burger King was deemed the appropriate way to begin our descent into becoming American for the week. Watching the store manager (in her 20-something-year-old-bandanna-wearing-wise ways) have an argument with customer was quite the entertainment - it felt like I was a part of US sitcom studio audience.
They definitely don't do things in halves here. I was so shcoked to be given this 'large' coke. Aah but when you can supersize for less 50 cents how can you argue the logic?
Squirrels are so smart at breaking open peanut shells. Here's a few at Madison Square Park.
Fifth Avenue at night, outside Abercrombie & Fitch.
The one thing that really shortens my temper is being inside Abercrombie & Fitch. Why do they have to play their music so loud? Why does it have to be dark in there? Why do a lot of the staff exhibit moronic behaviour? It's a good thing that their clothing is half price when compared to the London flagship store. I would buy more if I could tolerate being inside such a store.
The one thing I was really looking forward to in New York was having decent, affordable food. Yippee! Something that London does quite badly is decent Japanese food. Sure if I could afford to eat at Nobu everyday I would, but sometimes all I need is a good serving of sushi, ramen and the like without all the pomp and circumstance.
We were recommended to try Momofuku, a ramen bar. The weather was perfect for it. NYC had definitely turned on the winter scale and we were facing temperatures of -3 to 2 degrees everyday. Hmmmmm.... ramen.... so warming..... Let's see, the last time I had decent ramen was about 2 years ago in Sydney, so I was very much looking forward to some soup. The cafe itself was something reminiscent of Chocolate Buddha/Wagamama but on a smaller scale.
Smee had the signature ramen with pork, while I had the beef brisket.
Given that I haven't had decent ramen in a long time, this was very much to my liking. The broth was light and the poached egg on Smee's dish was a nice addition. However, the noodles soaked up the soup too quickly and in the end, it was like eating a dish whereby the chef skimped on the crucial ingredient. The prices converted while probably cheaper than London (US$14 a bowl), Momofuku by all means was not a cheap meal. Not to say I won't go back, but I won't be going back in a hurry.
Afterwards, we took a few night snaps at Times Square.
Why on earth would you want a deep fried pickle?
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